These are just my opinions. I cannot promise that I will be perfect, but I can promise that I will seek to understand and illuminate whatever moves that the Giants make (my obsession and compulsion). I will share my love of baseball and my passion for the Giants. And I will try to teach, best that I can. Often, I tackle the prevailing mood among Giants fans and see if that is a correct stance, good or bad.

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Thursday, June 22, 2006

What's Up with Frandsen Call Up

The Giants announced that Frandsen is coming up and, this time, will see more time in the starting lineup, playing 2B, 3B, and SS. Frandsen has had two previous callups. First time he was playing 2B extensively because Durham was DLed. The second time he didn't really play much at all. Now he's being brought up a third time with the mandate that he's going to see a lot more playing time but as a utility IF, essentially, playing 2B, 3B, and SS, but in a semi-starting role, varying by day, ostensibly to give Durham, Vizquel, and Feliz some rest time during the heat of summer.

What are the implications? Does it mean the Giants see him only as a utility IF? Or do they see this as an opportunity to play him regularly without having a regular position for him? One of the publications I buy list his potential only as a utility IF but the Giants have been touting his abilities as a major leaguer (not incompatible positions, either).

Perhaps this means that the Giants are testing him now to see how he hits as a semi-regular to see if either he or Durham (I assume Durham) can be a trading chip in the upcoming "trade winds" period of the baseball season. Maybe they want to sell high on Frandsen, since there had been talk of him starting in some circles (mainly Giants fans :^). Or do they hope Frandsen plays well enough for the Giants to consider trading Durham off and starting Frandsen in his place?

The only Giants that Sabean has openly talked about re-signing is Schmidt and if Durham is healthy (enough) he has been a solid player for the Giants, though never the healthy basestealing leadoff hitter we thought we were getting. A playoff team could use a good hitter like Durham going into the playoffs, particularly if their 2B is either lacking or injured. Mets come to mind there with their trading of Kazuo Matsui for nothing much to the Rockies a few weeks ago.

This also appears to me to be a sign that the Giants are not happy with Vizcaino's production so far and he could be the next DFA on the team with Frandsen taking his role permanently (instead of just currently since his description sounds like what Vizcaino has supposedly been doing but he's probably played more 1B than anything from my recollection).

In addition, the SFGiants.com article also notes that Vizcaino, Sweeney and Greene might see time at 1B going forward (even though in the same article, it is noted that Niekro is due to come off DL next Tuesday - I wonder who goes down then, sounds like Frandsen's up for a while, hopefully Hennessey so he can start in minors) but based on the lack of offense the Giants have been suffering through, I see the significant point of this note is that Greene will see time at 1B, which would mean a three-way at 1B between Niekro the titular main starter but Sweeney and Greene also seeing significant time at 1B. And, hey, why not, Felipe has got to be seeing Greene bash the ball all around and licking his chops thinking about how he can get him in the lineup more often, perhaps because Eliezer has been doing so well catching. I guess this is also a sign that the Giants don't think Ishikawa is ready to platoon with Niekro - a prospect tout publication has rated Ishikawa's potential as, at best, a platoon 1B.

I, Me, Mine

Wow, this was easy and amazingly free. I am a big Giants fan and I hope to use my experience in business (MBA) and analytics (nearly 25 years) to bring up interesting facts to other Giants fans so that we may better understand the team's chances for success (or not) and hopefully share their insights with me. Please read my "OGC's Business Plan" link to better understand what my philosophy is for building a successful MLB team.
I want to teach and share my love of baseball and, in particular, my love for the San Francisco Giants. I will believe to my dying days that Bobby Bonds should be in Baseball’s Hall of Fame for being one of the few to bring the combination of power and speed to the game.
Why a blog? I love technology and society and just wanted to participate in this trend to see what it felt like. Plus I have a lot of questions I would like answered about the Giants and since I don't see anyone else tackling them, I've taken it upon myself to do it. Not that I'm that special, but just that I'm willing to put in the time to investigate them.